DNA testing has confirmed the identities of all 10 people killed in a fire at Tuptup Restaurant and Resort in Patuartek, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) identified the charred bodies by matching samples with DNA provided by relatives. Investigation officer Rimon Ghosh said the bodies would be handed over to the families on Tuesday and that authorities would brief the media on the progress of the investigation.
The victims included four members of a Dhaka-based family: Mohammad Nahidur Rahman, 41, an employee of Grand Power Limited in Shyamoli; his wife, Afsana Matin, 36; and their daughters, Rozaina Inaya, nine, and Munaina Ihana, six.
The other six victims were Moulita Mehzabin Alvi, 19; her cousins Laila Jahan Nabila, 25, and Israt Jahan Maliha, 27; Faria Kabir, 33; Faria’s six-year-old son, Mohammad Faizan Noor; and her brother, Mohammad Nafis Tehami, 24. They lived in Dhaka’s Banasree and Khilgaon areas.
Nafis Tehami, also known as Zerif, was a student in the Chinese Language and Culture program at the Institute of Modern Languages of Dhaka University for the 2020–21 academic year. Moulita Mehzabin Alvi studied Population and Public Health Sciences at East West University, while Laila Jahan Nabila was a student in the Department of Chemistry at Jagannath University.
Eleven people were initially reported missing after the fire, although 10 bodies were recovered. The DNA of Nasrin Akter Mukta, 27, a schoolteacher who remains missing, did not match any of the recovered bodies.
“We recovered 10 bodies, and their DNA samples matched. The sample of the remaining person was not found among them,” investigation officer Rimon Ghosh told the media.
Mukta taught at Swapnabilash Niribili School in Ashulia, Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. She had traveled to Cox’s Bazar with two friends. Her husband, Dewan Faisal, is a former leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal in Dhaka district. Her father is Mostafa Kamal.
Meanwhile, a court has summoned Ukhiya Police Station officer-in-charge Atikur Rahman Majumder over the registration of a case involving the deaths under bailable provisions.
The officer-in-charge has been ordered to appear in person on Wednesday, October 29, and explain why more serious criminal charges were not included in the case. The court also sought an explanation as to why legal and departmental disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Asad Uddin Mohammad Asif of Cox’s Bazar issued the order at the Ukhiya cognizance court on Monday afternoon, October 26.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Cox’s Bazar Life Photo
